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Keeping packages up-to-date is important on any Linux distro. Arch operates on a rolling release model, delivering bleeding-edge updates to your virtual door as soon as they’re ready. Because of that, frequent updates (combined with effective backups) are necessary to avoid a broken system and corrupt packages. RELATED: How to Back Up Your Linux System With rsync Most Arch-based distros use the pacman package manager to download and install updates, a process technically referred to as “syncing....

There’s a hidden advantage to digital photography, and it’s called Exif. See what it is, how it can help you, and how you can use it to learn from skilled photographers all over the internet. Exif can be like a textbook full of how tos for the resourceful photo geek. Keep reading to see where you can find the Exif data, and learn the secrets of the masters. What is Exif?...

Gmail Multi-Send Features and Limits When you enable Multi-Send in the Compose window, the header turns purple and a Continue button replaces the Send button. You’ll also see a message at the bottom of the window confirming you’re in Multi-Send mode. A unique Unsubscribe link is added to each email. Recipients can use the link to unsubscribe or resubscribe and you’ll receive notifications for these actions. If you include a recipient who previously unsubscribed, they are automatically removed from the email....

If one of your passwords is compromised, does that automatically mean that your other passwords are also compromised? While there are quite a few variables at play, the question is an interesting look at what makes a password vulnerable and what you can do to protect yourself. Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-drive grouping of Q&A web sites....

When installing an application on a Terminal Server, because multiple people will be using the application at once, there is actually a special method that you should use to install the applications. Here’s two methods to do it the right way. Note: this is part of our ongoing series teaching IT administration basics, and might not apply to everybody. Command Line Method The first method we can use involves the command line....

Kubernetes and Docker’s Swarm mode are two container orchestration tools that let you scale workload replicas across multiple physical machines. Although Kubernetes is the more popular choice, Docker Swarm has some unique benefits that are worth considering too. Here’s a look at how these two technologies compare across their key functions. Both have the same end goal – letting you scale containers – but achieve it in sometimes quite different ways....

The best solution to this problem is to implement a delay before messages are sent out, but even in that scenario you still might let one slip through, so this is the second line of defense. To recall the message, go to your Sent Items folder and then open the message you shouldn’t have sent. On the Ribbon in the Actions group click on the “Other Actions” button and choose Recall This Message from the menu....

Originally launched as an April Fools prank by the Microsoft SkyDrive team, SkyCMD turned out to be a really geeky way to manage files and folders on your SkyDrive from the command line. Lets take a quick look. Managing Your SkyDrive Through the Command Line Fire up your browser of choice and head over to the web site. The first thing you are going to want to do is use the “green” command, to change the font color....

Every week we take a look at interesting trivia and events from the history of Geekdom. This week we’re taking a look at the first public offering of Microsoft stock, the birth of Albert Einstein, and the cross linking of information networks across the Atlantic. Microsoft Goes Public Although Microsoft was officially established as a corporate entity in 1975 it wasn’t until 1986 that they went IPO with their first stock offering....

Reflection’s often talked about in the context of object-oriented programming. You often use reflection to discover codebase entities at runtime. The language’s reflection API will let you inspect classes, methods, properties, and types from within your system. This lets you build more dynamic functionality. Systems which utilize reflection are able to interrogate and modify their own environments. This is where reflection differs from plain value introspection. A language with full reflection support will permit codebase modification at runtime, effectively allowing the source to rewrite aspects of itself....

What Is It? Most people have only one Instagram account, but sometimes, people make an additional one. These fake Instagram accounts are referred to as “Finstas.” They’re usually secretive, anonymous, or full of images that aren’t relevant to a person’s primary account. Some people create Finstas to keep certain posts or stories from being public. While anyone—including strangers or coworkers—can see a regular Instagram (“Rinsta”) account, a Finsta is only available to select friends or family....

How Dithering Works in Computer Graphics Dithering is a term used to describe the strategic application of noise to an image. It has traditionally been used to improve the appearance of images where the output is limited to a particular color range. For example, a 1-bit image is monochrome and capable of only using a palette of two colors: black and white. Dithering can be employed to create the appearance of multiple shades by varying the distance between dots....

RELATED: What Is Recursion in Programming, and How Do You Use It? What Is Recursion? The short answer is that Recursion is basically whenever a function calls itself, usually with a different input passed to the child function. It calls itself over and over until an exit condition is reached, and then passes the results back up the call stack, potentially modifying them on the way up as well....

Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite tricks for scoring free Wi-Fi while on the road. Now we’re back to share the wealth; read on to see how your fellow readers stay connected while traveling. By far the most popular technique was looking for restaurants and coffee shops that offer free Wi-Fi service. Five years ago the idea that every other establishment in the airport or down a busy street would offer free wireless internet would be a dream....

“Hey Google, Let’s Get Spooky” If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to take your home from zero Halloween vibes to a proper spooky mood, it’s tough to beat the “let’s get spooky” shortcut. For several years now, Google Assistant has responded to the trigger phrase “Hey Google, let’s get spooky” by taking advantage of the smart gear connected to your Google Home. When you give the command, Google Assistant will play a Halloween loop on Chromecast-connected TVs or Nest displays, music, and sound effects over your Nest speakers and adjust any linked smart lights for colorful Halloween effects....

How to Get Microsoft PowerToys You can download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or get an installer directly from GitHub and enable the features you want from within the PowerToys Settings application. It’s free and open-source. If you’re using GitHub, download the “PowerToysSetup” EXE file from the website and double-click it to install it. You can launch PowerToys from your Start menu, and it will remain running in the background....

Hard Drives and SSDs Don’t Last Forever Take a hard drive and an SSD and bury them with a book in a time capsule for 100 years. You can bet the book will be legible when it resurfaces, but the storage drives? Good luck. That’s not just because regular storage drives can suffer hardware failures. Whether we’re talking about SSDs or old-fashioned mechanical hard drives, these drives have a limited ability to retain data when inoperative....

Before jumping into this review, I should acknowledge the fact that bad actors use AirTags to track others without their knowledge. The CARD Spot can also be misused. Thankfully, like with AirTags, if a CARD Spot that doesn’t belong to you is nearby for an extended period, it will alert you on your iPhone. And if you own an Android smartphone or don’t see the notification, the Bluetooth tracker will eventually start playing an audible noise....

Once a week we round up some of the great tips that flow into the HTG tips box and share them with the greater readership. This week we’re talking about downloading your Facebook data for easy wall searching, packing lots of apps into iOS folders, and keeping tabs on web apps that can access your private data. Download All Your Facebook Data The Easy Way Michelle writes in with a simple way to search your Facebook wall:...

Once a week we open up the tips box and share some helpful reader tips. This week we’re looking at easily halting Windows automatic reboot on update, enabling Unity menus in Chrome, and putting tabs in your PuTTY interface. Batch Files Offers One Click Reboot Halt Dave liked our halting reboot tip so much that he put together a little batch file to pause updates until next reboot. He writes:...